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Monday, November 29, 2010

Lately I've been making soup like crazy, because when it snows for days on end nothing sounds as warming as a big bowl of soup. I love to make soup as much as I love to eat soup, even if I don't especially care for the weather that inspires all this soup-making. This soup was my version of a Thai Coconut Curry Soup I spotted on Jeanette's Healthy Living. I changed the Thai curry paste to curry powder which I thought would hold up better in the slow cooker, and also changed the proportions of the recipe a bit for a slightly different riff on Jeannete's soup recipe. I enjoyed this with a generous dollop of fat-free Greek yogurt, which didn't make it into the photo, and this is a soup I'll definitely be making again.

I used crushed ginger and garlic puree in this soup, but if you're using freshly minced ginger or garlic I'd reduce the amount a little.

Heat olive oil in a heavy pan, then saute chopped onion for 3-4 minutes. Add crushed ginger and garlic puree and saute 1-2 minutes more, then add curry powder and saute another minute. Put the sauteed onion and spice into the crockpot.

Chop up one very large sweet potato into 1/2 inch dice and add to crockpot. (These are sometimes called yams or sweet yams in U.S. grocery stores, but they're really sweet potatoes.)

Add the red lentils to the crockpot.

Deglaze the pan with about 1 cup of the chicken stock and add it to the crockpot.

Then add the other 5 cups of stock, and stir to distribute the ingredients.

Cook on high for about 4 hours, or until lentils are starting to dissolve and the sweet potatoes are very soft. (If you want a completely smooth soup you can puree it at this point, but I left mine slightly chunky.

Add 1 can light coconut milk and cook about 20 minutes more. Season with sea salt to taste and serve hot, with a generous dollop of fat free Greek yogurt or light sour cream if desired.

Heat olive oil in heavy frying pan; add the chopped onion and saute 3-4 minutes or until onion starts to soften. Add the ginger and garlic and saute 1-2 minutes more; then add the curry powder and saute one more minute. Add the onion mixture to the crockpot.

Add the chopped sweet potato and red lentils to the crockpot. Deglaze the pan with 1 cup of the chicken stock and add to crockpot along with the rest of the stock.

Cook on high for 4 hours, or until lentils are starting to dissolve and sweet potato is very soft. (At this point you can mash or puree with an immersion blender if you want, but I left my soup fairly chunky.) Add 1 can light coconut milk and cook about 20 minutes more. Season to taste with sea salt and serve hot, with fat free Greek yogurt or light sour cream if desired.

Stovetop Recipe Instructions

Heat olive oil in a heavy soup pot, then saute onions, ginger, garlic, and curry powder as described above. Add chopped sweet potato, red lentils, and stock, bring to a low simmer and let cook until lentils are starting to dissolve and sweet potatoes are very soft, about 1 hour. (At this point you can mash or puree with an immersion blender if desired.)

Add coconut milk and cook soup at the barest possible simmer for about 10 minutes, taking care not to let the mixture boil after the coconut milk has been added. Season with sea salt to taste and serve hot, with a dollop or fat free Greek yogurt or light sour cream if desired.

Sweet potatoes and red lentils are both great low-glycemic ingredients, and using light coconut milk makes this soup suitable for phase 2 or 3 of the South Beach Diet. Limit portion sizes for phase 2, since dried beans are limited to 1/3 to 1/2 cup serving.

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I like the header for the blog - very elegant! the soup sounds delicious - I have a great recipe for lentils and coconut milk soup but it's by a chef of a famous local fancy spa-hotel and has way too many ingredients. I have at home everything that is in your recipe so I might make it this week instead of the pea & leek soup I was planning on making.Thanks for the recipe!

Glad people are liking the sound of this. Thanks for the nice feedback on the new look of the blog too.

I wouldn't recommend using dried ginger powder as a substitute for the ginger in this recipe. The flavor of dried ginger is very different and much stronger. If you don't want to buy a jar of ginger like I used, just buy a small piece of fresh ginger root and chop or grate it.

first time here, and it looks like you have a great site! I'm a soup-addict too, and since my sister-in-law is coming over for a day of sewing, and the snow is flying, I think I'm stickin' this in the crockpot for lunch, considering i think i have all the ingredients on hand.....awesome! thanks for sharing!cathy b. @ brightbakes

Looks amazing. I love the idea of starting parts of soups destined for the crock pot in a skillet. Taking the time to brown ingredients in a skillet really helps to make sure you can get the most of your crock pot recipe.

Sara, I buy that TJ's ginger when I'm visiting my brother in California. In Salt Lake I buy Spice World ground ginger that doesn't have sugar. I think the juice would work, but I wouldn't saute it with the onions, just add to the soup.

What would you all think about freezing this? I want to make some for a friend whose baby is in the NICU, but I also want to give her the option of freezing the meal in the case of leftovers or too much food for that day (we're doing a meal train which sometimes results in lots of extras :).

I actually froze half of the batch I made but I haven't eaten it from the freezer yet. Truly I think it will be okay, because the sweet potatoes are cooked until they're kind of falling apart anyway. Obviously, don't add the yogurt or sour cream until right when you serve it if you use those.

Thank you Kalyn. I made this tonight using fresh ginger and garlic. Your directions were very clear and the dish is delicious. I added green peas (3/4c) and a handful of green beans when I added the coconut milk.

I made this tonight on the stove-top. Delish. I used half garam masala and half yellow curry powder (both from Penzey's -- love that place!) I also added one bunch of kale, chopped, to get some hard-hitting veggie nutrition in there. It was a perfect one-pot meal for a cold night. My husband loved it. Thanks!

I made this two weeks ago and backtracked back to this page to tell you that it was wonderful and perfect for a wintry day in Pennsylvania. I loved the addition of the lentils especially; it seems like I always have an open bag of lentils somewhere that I need to use up. I also threw in some Thai red curry paste. Unorthodox, I know, but I love curry and am trying to clean out my fridge before moving!

Thanks for joining the conversation! I love hearing from readers and even though I can't always reply to every comment, I will always answer specific questions on a recipe as soon as possible. Sometimes I'm answering by iPhone, so my replies may be short!

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